Integrating Peak Spiritual Experiences

Deep spiritual experiences can sometimes generate confusion, anxiety, serious disorientation, or feelings of dis-reality. Any kind of work where you are experiencing higher states of consciousness by definition involves some kind of break with or transcendence of ordinary waking consensual reality. This can be very challenging for the psyche and the self!

The self or ego really likes to know what is going on and feel like it has a handle on everything. When it is challenged by a profound altered states of consciousness it can lead to serious confusion, fear, and disarray.

Some people call this a spiritual crisis, a mystical experience, a kundalini awakening, or an experience of enlightenment. It can even look like a nervous or psychotic breakdown, especially in the world of conventional psychiatry.

These kinds of experiences are very common with entheogens, psychedelics and plant medicines. But they can also be caused by deep meditation work (e.g. a vipaussana retreat) or a rigorous practice of certain types of yoga, tantric practices, etc. Sometimes they even happen spontaneously.

Whatever the cause, the bottom line is that integration work is needed to help you ground into your new reality, reorganize your psyche in a functional way, and to integrate the experience in a way that leads to lasting transformation. This work often leads to the deeper work of dealing with the big questions of who you are, why you are here, and what the meaning of life is.

These experiences are incredibly special and ofter the potential for true life transformation if taken seriously and worked through purposefully. For me it is truly an honor to help guide people on this journey of transformation.